Information managing device, information managing method, and non-transitory recording medium

ABSTRACT

An information managing device detects target management information to manage the target management information held by each of a plurality of information holding servers connected to the information managing device via a network, and generates link information for accessing the detected target management information via the network. 
     Next, the information managing device obtains accompanying information accompanying to the target management information from each of the plurality of information holding servers, and classifies the accompanying information in accordance with the predefined layer structure. Subsequently, the link information is displayed on a display in association with the classified accompanying information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No.2015-230952, filed on Nov. 26, 2015, the entire disclosure of which isincorporated by reference herein.

FIELD

This application relates generally to an information managing device, aninformation managing method, and a non-transitory recording medium.

BACKGROUND

Services called a Social Networking Service (SNS) and utilizing theInternet have become popular. Some SNS users utilize multiple SNSs totransmit information. In the case of such user who utilizes multipleSNSs, the utilization of multiple SNS sometimes causes the users toconfuse what information the user has transmitted and from which SNS theinformation has been transmitted.

For example, Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Kokai PublicationNo. 2014-26614 discloses a searching and information displaying systemthat has a user-posting-detail automatic searching function that is afunction of automatically searching based on the posted details of aninterlinked user by the user over the SNS.

According to Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Kokai PublicationNo. 2014-26614, the controller gives the SNS account of the user to asearch engine, obtains the details of transmitted information by theuser over the SNS like a tweet, and stores archives in the service at atime point at which the user interlinks the SNS account. Next,information contained in the archives will be subjected to a search, andonly the posted details by the user can be made available for thesearch. Hence, the activity details of the user at the same time of yearin past are reviewable.

According to the searching and information displaying system disclosedin Unexamined Japanese Patent Application Kokai Publication No.2014-26614, as explained above, at the time point at which the userinterlinks the SNS account, the archives are stored in the service.Hence, the data quantity of archives becomes quite large. Consequently,the management sometimes becomes difficult in practice due to, forexample, a preparation of a device that is capable of storing andprocessing such a large quantity of data, and costs thereof.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure has been made in view of the foregoingcircumstances, and an objective is to provide an information managingdevice, an information managing method, and a non-transitory recordingmedium which are capable of managing target management informationuploaded to multiple information holding servers like SNS servers at alittle data quantity.

In order to accomplish the above objective, an information managingdevice according to a first aspect of the present disclosure managestarget management information held by each of a plurality of informationholding servers connected to the information managing device via anetwork, and the information managing device includes:

a detector that detects the target management information held by eachof the plurality of information holding servers;

a link information generator that generates link information foraccessing the detected target management information via the network;

an accompanying information obtainer that obtains accompanyinginformation accompanying to the target management information from eachof the plurality of information holding servers;

a classifier that classifies the accompanying information obtained bythe accompanying information obtainer in accordance with a predefinedlayer structure; and

a display that displays the link information generated by the linkinformation generator in association with the accompanying informationclassified by the classifier.

The target management information may be image information, and

the link information generator may generate a scaled-down image, whichsize is a predefined size, from the target management information as thelink information.

When the detector detects the same target management information from atleast some of the plurality of information holding servers, the displaymay display the link information for accessing the target managementinformation held by the information holding of which predefined priorityis high, in association with the accompanying information classified bythe classifier.

When the accompanying information is not obtained from the plurality ofinformation holding servers, the accompanying information obtainer mayobtain the accompanying information from a schedule managing server thatholds schedule data registering a user schedule via the network.

In order to accomplish the above objective, an information managingmethod according to a second aspect of the present disclosure is ofmanaging target management information held by each of a plurality ofinformation holding servers connected to an information managing devicevia a network, and the information managing method includes:

detecting the target management information held by each of theplurality of information holding servers;

generating link information for accessing the detected target managementinformation via the network;

obtaining accompanying information accompanying to the target managementinformation from each of the plurality of information holding servers;

classifying the accompanying information obtained in the obtaining inaccordance with a predefined layer structure; and

displaying the link information generated in the generating inassociation with the accompanying information classified in theclassifying.

In order to accomplish the above objective, a non-transitory computerreadable recording medium according to a third aspect of the presentdisclosure has stored therein a program for managing target managementinformation held by each of a plurality of information holding serversconnected to an information managing device via a network, and theprogram causes a computer connected to the network to function as:

a detector that detects the target management information held by eachof the plurality of information holding servers;

a link information generator that generates link information foraccessing the detected target management information via the network;

an accompanying information obtainer that obtains accompanyinginformation accompanying to the target management information from eachof the plurality of information holding servers;

a classifier that classifies the accompanying information obtained bythe accompanying information obtainer in accordance with a predefinedlayer structure; and

a display that displays the link information generated by the linkinformation generator in association with the accompanying informationclassified by the classifier.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of this application can be obtained whenthe following detailed description is considered in conjunction with thefollowing drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a structure of an information managingsystem according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a functional structure of a terminaldevice according to an embodiment;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a functional structure of a first SNSserver according to an embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating example first SNS data;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example structure of an imagedisplayed on the terminal device based on transmitted information fromthe first SNS server;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a functional structure of a second SNSserver according to an embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating example second SNS data;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example structure of an imagedisplayed on the terminal device based on transmitted information fromthe second SNS server;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a functional structure of a schedulemanaging server according to an embodiment;

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating example schedule data;

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a functional structure of aninformation managing device according to an embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating example management data;

FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating example server data;

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating example accompanying entry data;

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating an example tree structure to classifyimage information based on accompanying information;

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating example classification entry data;

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating a detailed structure of anaccompanying information obtainer;

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a management data updatingprocess according to an embodiment;

FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating a detailed flow of an accompanyinginformation obtaining process illustrated in FIG. 18;

FIG. 20 is a flowchart illustrating a flow of a viewing processaccording to an embodiment; and

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating an example structure of an image onthe terminal device which displays image information managed by theinformation managing device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An embodiment of the present disclosure will be explained below withreference to the figures. The same structural component will be denotedby the same reference numeral throughout all figures.

An information managing system 100 according to an embodiment of thepresent disclosure is to manage target management information that isimage information uploaded to a first Social Networking Service (SNS)server 102 and a second SNS server 103 by a user from a terminal device101.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the information managing system 100 includesthe terminal device 101 utilized by the user, the first SNS server 102and the second SNS server 103 that provide different SNSs, respectively,a schedule managing server 104 that manages the user schedule, and aninformation managing device 105 that manages the target managementinformation that is the image information. The first SNS server 102, thesecond SNS server 103, the schedule managing server 104, and theinformation managing device 105 are all connected together via a network106 constructed by a wired technology or a wireless technology, or acombination thereof, and are capable of communicating with each othervia the network 106.

In this embodiment, the explanation will be given of an example case inwhich the two SNS servers are provided, but the information managingsystem 100 may include equal to or greater than three SNS servers.

The terminal device 101 is a smartphone, a tablet terminal, or the like,enables the user to upload information to each server 102-104, and tocheck the managed image information by the information managing device105 via a screen.

More specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the terminal device 101includes a camera 107, an imaging controller 108, an image memory 109, aterminal-side transceiver 110, a display 111, a display controller 112,and an inputter 113.

The camera 107 is a device that picks up an image.

The imaging controller 108 controls the camera 107 to pick up the imagein accordance with a user operation, and stores, in the image memory109, image information indicating the picked-up image together withinformation on, for example, the location where the image is picked up(imaging location information). The image information also containsimaging date-and-time information indicating the date and time at whichthe image is picked up.

The imaging location information is associated with the imageinformation at the time of imaging when obtainable using, for example, aGlobal Position System (GPS) function of the terminal device 101. Notethat the imaging location information may be entered by the user via theinputter 113.

The image memory 109 is, for example, a flash memory that stores theimage information. When there is accompanying information like theimaging location information associated with the image information, theimage memory 109 also stores the accompanying information.

The terminal-side transceiver 110 is a communication interface thattransmits and receives information relative to the first SNS server 102,the second SNS server 103, the schedule managing server 104, and theinformation managing device 105 via the network 106.

The display 111 includes a liquid crystal panel, or the like, anddisplays the information on the screen.

The display controller 112 controls the display 111 to display an imagethat includes information which are to be transmitted and receivedrelative to the first SNS server 102, the second SNS server 103, theschedule managing server 104, and the information managing device 105,and which are arranged in accordance with a predetermined format.

The inputter 113 is a component operated by the user to enter theinformation. The inputter 113 constructs a touch panel together with thedisplay 111.

The first SNS server 102 and the second SNS server 103 are each a serverdevice that provides a social networking service that makes variousinformation like the uploaded image information by the user available tothe public. The first SNS server 102 and the second SNS server 103 areeach typically accomplished by a general-purpose computer in which asoftware to provide the social networking service is installed.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the first SNS server 102 includes functionalstructures that are a first SNS memory 114, a first updater 115, and afirst viewing processor 116.

The first SNS memory 114 stores first SNS data 117 that contains variousinformation like the image information uploaded by the user from theterminal device 101. The first SNS memory 114 includes a flash memory, aHard Disk Drive (HDD), or the like.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the first SNS data 117 according to thisembodiment is data that includes entries “posting Identification Data(ID)”, “user”, “posted date and time”, “comment”, “image ID”, “image”,“imaging location”, “imaged person”, and “album name” associated witheach other. In the illustrated example, in order to simplify theexplanation for easier understanding, data per a user is illustrated asan example, but the first SNS data 117 is stored in the memory user byuser. The same is true of second SNS data 121 to be explained later.

The entry “posting ID” is information to identify each first SNS data117, and in this embodiment, a sequential number in accordance with anupdated sequence is adopted.

The entry “user” is information to identify the user who has uploadedvarious information, and for example, is set up as appropriate togetherwith an unillustrated authentication password for updating and viewingwhen the user is registered in the SNS provided by the first SNS server102.

The entry “posted date and time” is information indicating the date andtime at which various information has been uploaded. The entry “posteddate and time” may be set beforehand in accordance with, for example,the date and time at which the first updater 115 has received variousinformation, and the date and time at which the first SNS memory 114 hasstored various information.

The entry “comment” is comment information indicating a comment enteredand uploaded by the user from the terminal device 101, and contains, forexample, characters, numbers, symbols, and the like, entered by the userfrom the terminal device 101. In this case, in FIG. 4, the symbol “—”indicates that no information has been set.

The entry “image ID” is information to identify each image informationcontained in the first SNS data 117. The entry “image ID” according tothis embodiment is a sequential number in accordance with an updatedsequence.

The entry “image” is the image information, that is, the informationindicating an uploaded image by the user from the terminal device 101.When a plurality of image information are collectively received, like“A”, “B”, and “C” in the entry “image” in FIG. 4, the entry “image” isassociated with the plurality of image information relative to one“posting ID” contained in the first SNS data 117.

The entry “imaging location” is the imaging location informationindicating the location where the image is picked up. The imaginglocation information may be associated with the uploaded imageinformation from the terminal device 101, or may be entered and set bythe user via the terminal device 101.

The entry “imaged person” is imaged person information to identify aperson like the name of a person in the image information. This imagedperson information will be explained later in detail.

The entry “album name” is information indicating a name given toidentify each group when the plurality of image information are managedas groups. For example, the entry “album name” may be set and entered bythe user via the terminal device 101.

In this case, the entries “posted date and time”, “comment”, “imaginglocation”, and “album name” are example accompanying information, thatis, information accompanying to the image information that is the targetmanagement information according to this embodiment.

With reference to FIG. 3, the first updater 115 generates, whenobtaining various information like the image information from theoperated terminal device 101 by the user via the network 106, the firstSNS data 117 based on the obtained various information, and stores thegenerated data in the first SNS memory 114.

More specifically, when obtaining the comment information, the imaginglocation information and the album name information together with theimage information, the first updater 115 obtains the imaged personinformation contained in the image information if possible.

For example, some SNSs have a function of interlinking several users asfriends, and holding the image information on the face of each user. Theimaged person information may be identified by the first updater 115based on whether or not the face of the other user interlinked with theuser who uploads the image information is contained in the uploadedimage information. In addition, for example, the imaged personinformation may be entered by the user from the terminal device 101.

The first updater 115 generates the first SNS data 117 that is theobtained image information associated with the obtained commentinformation, imaging location information, and album name information,and stores the generated data in the first SNS memory 114. In addition,when the imaged person information is obtained, the first updater 115generates the first SNS data 117 further associated with the imagedperson information, and stores the generated information in the firstSNS memory 114. The first updater 115 allocates and associates the aboveentries that are posting ID and image ID with various information.

The first viewing processor 116 obtains, when obtaining a request basedon the user input from the terminal device 101 via the network 106, thefirst SNS data 117 that matches the request from the first SNS memory114, and transmits the obtained first SNS data 117 to the terminaldevice 101. Hence, the terminal device 101 displays the image on thedisplay 111 based on the information contained in the first SNS data117.

When, for example, there is a request (viewing request) to viewinformation contained in the first SNS data 117 stored in the first SNSmemory 114, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the terminal device 101 displays,on the display 111, the image in which a plurality of information arearranged. Note that as illustrated in the figure, the newer the posteddate and time is, the upper location the information is displayed on thedisplay 111.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, the second SNS server 103 includes functionalstructures that are a second SNS memory 118, a second updater 119, and asecond viewing processor 120 that have the similar functions as those ofthe first SNS memory 114, the first updater 115, and the first viewingprocessor 116, respectively, in the first SNS server 102.

The second SNS memory 118 stores second SNS data 121 that containsvarious information like the image information uploaded by the user fromthe terminal device 101. The second SNS memory 118 includes, like thefirst SNS memory 114, a flash memory, a

Hard Disk Drive (HDD), or the like.

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the second SNS data 121 according to thisembodiment is data that includes a plurality of information (entries)“posting ID”, “user”, “posted date and time”, “comment”, “image ID”, and“image” associated with each other. Each entry “posting ID”, “user”,“posted date and time”, “comment”, “image ID”, and “image” issubstantially equivalent to those of the first SNS data 117 explainedabove with the “first SNS data 117”, the “first SNS server 102”, and the“first updater 115” being replaced with the “second SNS data 121”, the“second SNS server 103”, and the “second updater 119”, respectively. Inthe example illustrated in FIG. 7, the entry “image” which is “E”, “F”,and “G” and which are the plurality of image information collectivelyreceived are associated with one entry “posting ID” contained in thesecond SNS data 121. As illustrated in the figure, the second SNS data121 differs from the first SNS data 117 such that informationcorresponding to the entries “imaging location”, “imaged person”, and“album name” are not contained. That is, the first SNS server 102 has adifferent function from that of the second SNS server 103 such that theinformation corresponding to the entries “imaging location”, “imagedperson”, and “album name” are managed.

With reference to FIG. 6, the second updater 119 and the second viewingprocessor 120 are substantially equivalent to the first updater 115 andthe first viewing processor 116 explained above with the “first updater115”, the “first viewing processor 116”, the “first SNS data 117”, andthe “first SNS memory 114” being replaced with the “second updater 119”,the “second viewing processor 120”, the “second SNS data 121”, and the“second SNS memory 118”, respectively. FIG. 8 illustrates an examplecase in which the plurality of information in the second SNS data 121are displayed on the display 111 of the terminal device 101.

The schedule managing server 104 illustrated in FIG. 1 manages scheduledata 122 (see FIG. 10) uploaded by the user from the terminal device 101or the like. As illustrated in FIG. 9 the schedule managing server 104includes functional structures that are a schedule memory 123, aschedule updater 124, and a schedule viewing processor 125. The schedulemanaging server 104 is accomplished by a general-purpose computer inwhich a software to provide a schedule managing function to the user isinstalled.

The schedule memory 123 stores the schedule data 122 indicating theschedule of the user. For example, the schedule memory 123 is a flashmemory or an HDD.

As illustrated in FIG. 10 that is an example case for a user “AAA”, theschedule data 122 according to this embodiment includes entries “dateand time”, “details”, “location”, and “member” associated with eachother. The plurality of information contained in the schedule data 122are entered beforehand via the terminal device 101.

The entry “date and time” is information on the date and time at whichthe user has a plan. The entry “details” is information indicating thedetails of the user's plan. The entry “location” is informationindicating the location where the plan is held or the location plannedto visit. The entry “member” indicates a person who has the plantogether with the user.

For example, one of the schedule data 122 illustrated in FIG. 10indicates a plan of a hot spring trip to a hot spring P together with aperson X from Sep. 29, 2015 to Sep. 30, 2015. In addition, the other oneof the schedule data 122 illustrated in FIG. 10 indicates a plan of afutsal to a park R together with persons X and Y from Oct. 23, 2015,20:00 to Oct. 23, 2015, 21:00.

The schedule updater 124 stores, when obtaining the schedule data 122from the terminal device 101 operated by the user via the network 106,the obtained schedule data 122 in the schedule memory 123.

The schedule viewing processor 125 obtains, when obtaining a requestfrom the information managing device 105 or a request from the terminaldevice 101 entered by the user via the network 106, the matchingschedule data to the request from the schedule memory 123, and transmitsthe obtained schedule data 122 to the information managing device 105 orthe terminal device 101 that has made the request. A request from theterminal device 101 controls the display 111 to display the planindicated by the schedule data 122 on the screen, enabling the user tocheck the plan.

The information managing device 105 illustrated in FIG. 1 collectivelymanages the uploaded image information by the user to the first SNSserver 102 and the second SNS server 103. As illustrated in FIG. 11, theinformation managing device 105 includes an information managing memory126, a detector 127, a link information generator 128, a management dataupdater 129, an accompanying information obtainer 130, a management datagenerator 131, and a viewing processor 132. The information managingdevice 105 is accomplished by a general-purpose computer in which asoftware program to provide functions to be explained later to the useris installed.

The information managing memory 126 includes, as a physical structure, aflash memory or an HDD, and stores management data 133, server data 134,accompanying entry data 135, and classification entry data 136.

The management data 133 includes, at least the image information that isthe target management information and link information associated witheach other. In this case, the link information is to access theassociated image information via the network 106.

As illustrated in FIG. 12, the management data 133 according to thisembodiment includes entries “management ID”, “link”, “posted date andtime”, “imaging location”, “imaged person”, “album name”, “sub link”,and “sub posted date and time” associated with each other.

The “management ID” is to identify each management data 133, and in thisembodiment, a sequential number in accordance with the updated sequenceis adopted. In this embodiment, a single management ID is allocated toeach image information that is the target management information.

The entries “link” and “sub link” are information on links. Asillustrated in FIG. 12, the link information according to thisembodiment is indicated so as to include the address of the SNS server102, 103 storing the image information over the network 106, and theimage ID in such an SNS server 102, 103 interconnected with each otherby a symbol “_”. That is, in this embodiment, the image information thatis the target management information is identifiable based on theaddress of the SNS server and the image ID (image address) that isinformation to identify the image in such an SNS server.

In the case of the image information stored in either the first SNSserver 102 or the second SNS server 103 only, the entry “link” in themanagement data 133 is set to be the information containing the addressof the SNS server storing the image information in the

SNS servers 102, 103, and the image ID. In this case, no information isset for the entry “sub link” in the management data 133.

In the case of the image information stored in both the first SNS server102 and the second SNS server 103, the entry “link” in the managementdata 133 is set to be the link information containing the address of thefirst-prioritized SNS server in the SNS servers 102, 103, and the “imageID”. In this case, the entry “sub link” in the management data 133 isset to be the link information containing the address of thesecond-prioritized SNS server in the SNS servers 102, 103, and the“image ID”.

The prioritized order in this case may be set beforehand. In thisembodiment, an explanation will be given of an example case in which thefirst SNS server 102 has a higher prioritized order than that of thesecond SNS server 103.

The entries “posted date and time” and “sub posted date and time”indicate the date and time at which the image information is uploaded,and the details of the “posted date and time” in the first SNS data 117and in the second SNS data 121 is set to those entries.

In the case of the image information stored in either the first SNSserver 102 or the second SNS server 103 only, the entry “posted date andtime” in the management data 133 is set to be the details of the “posteddate and time” of the SNS data stored in the SNS server that stores theimage information in the SNS servers 102, 103. In this case, noinformation is set for the entry “sub posted date and time” in themanagement data 133.

In the case of the image information stored in both the first SNS server102 and the second SNS server 103, the entry “posted date and time” inthe management data 133 is set to be the details of the “posted date andtime” in the SNS data stored in the first-prioritized SNS server in theSNS servers 102, 103. In this case, the entry “sub posted date and time”in the management data 133 is set to be the details of the “posted dateand time” in the SNS data stored in the second-prioritized SNS server inthe SNS servers 102, 103.

The “imaging location” is information indicating the imaging location ofthe image indicated by the image information that is the targetmanagement information.

In this embodiment, the details of “imaging location” in the SNS data117, 121, stored in the SNS server 102, 103 set as “link” is set for theentry “imaging location”. When the entry “imaging location” of the SNSdata 117, 121 stored in the SNS server 102, 103 set as the “link”contains no information, the entry “imaging location” in the managementdata 133 is set to be the details of “imaging information” in the SNSdata 117, 121 stored in the SNS server 102, 103 set as “sub link”. Inaddition, when the entry “imaging location” of the SNS data 117, 121stored in the SNS server 102, 103 set as the “sub link” also contains noinformation, the entry “imaging location” in the management data 133 isset based on the “location” contained in the schedule data 122.

The entry “imaged person” indicates, when the image indicated by theimage information that is the target management information contains aperson, such a person.

In this embodiment, when the first SNS server 102 is set as “link”, andthe entry “imaged person” in the first SNS data 117 contains anyinformation, the entry “imaged person” in the management data 133 is setto be the details of the entry “imaged person” in the first SNS data117. When the second SNS server 103 is set as “link” or when the firstSNS server 102 is set as “link” and the entry “imaged person” in thefirst SNS data 117 contains no information, the entry “imaged person” inthe management data 133 is set to be the details of the entry “member”contained in the schedule data 122.

The entry “album name” indicates a name given to identify each groupwhen the plurality of information are managed group by group.

In this embodiment, when the first SNS server 102 is set as “link”, andthe entry “album name” in the first SNS data 117 contains anyinformation, the entry “album name” in the management data 133 is set tobe the details of the entry “album name” in the first SNS data 117. Whenthe first SNS server 102 is set as “link”, and the entry “album name” inthe first SNS data 117 contains no information, the entry “album name”in the management data 133 is set to be a part of the entry “comment” inthe first SNS data 117 like the first 20 characters of the “comment”.The entry “album name” may be entered and set by the user via theterminal device 101.

Returning to FIG. 11, the server data 134 indicates the address of eachserver 102-104 over the network 106. In this embodiment, as illustratedin FIG. 13, the server data 134 includes the entry “server ID” toidentify each server 102-104, and the entry “address” indicating theaddress of the server 102-104 over the network 106 associated with eachother. The entry “server ID” may be set as appropriate by the user.

The accompanying entry data 135 illustrated in FIG. 11 defines the typeof the accompanying data to be managed as information accompanying tothe image information that is the target management information. In thisembodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 14, types (accompanying entries)“posted date and time”, “imaging location”, “album name”, and “imagedperson” are set for the accompanying information.

The classification entry data 136 illustrated in FIG. 11 indicates thegrouping structure to classify (grouping) the image information that isthe target management information and to control the display 111 todisplay the classified image information. In this embodiment, asillustrated in FIG. 15, the details of the accompanying entry areclassified into groups gradually subdivided and represented by a treestructure for each accompanying entry set for the accompanying entrydata 135, and the image information having undergone the classificationis displayed. In order to define the tree structure in FIG. 15, forexample, as illustrated in FIG. 16, the classification entry data 136includes entries “classification entry ID”, “classification entry name”,and “parent classification entry” associated with each other. Morespecifically, according to this embodiment, the accompanying entry data136 illustrated in FIG. 16 is read, and in accordance with subdivisionsetting information set beforehand, the accompanying entry is subdividedinto multiple classifications. The subdivision setting informationindicates how many layers each accompanying entry is subdivided, and maybe defined beforehand. In the case of, for example, the posted date andtime, such an entry is subdivided into layers like “year” “year andmonth”, and “year, month, and day”. The details of the subdivisionsetting information on how many layers the entry is subdivided may beset up by the user. When, in particular, the subdivision is performed onthe imaging location based on an address like “country”, “state”,“city”, there may be unnecessary layers for the user. Hence, byomitting, for example, the layer “country”, the presence of unnecessarylayer is avoidable. In addition, the subdivision setting information mayinclude several patterns prepared beforehand, and such patterns may beselected in accordance with the user's interest. As for the imaginglocation, for example, various patterns may be prepared such as apattern for the subdivision based on the address, and a pattern for thesubdivision based on the facility, such as “restaurant”, “entertainmentpark”, and “hot spring”.

The entry “classification entry ID” is to identify each classificationentry, and in the example case illustrated in FIG. 16, is a number givenas appropriate. The entry “classification entry name” indicates the namegiven to the group. The entry “parent classification entry” indicatesthe name of the classification entry located right above in the treestructure. In this embodiment, in accordance with the subdivisionsetting information, the details of the accompanying entry aresubdivided through the process to be explained later for eachaccompanying entry set for the accompanying data 135.

Returning to FIG. 11, the detector 127 detects the uploaded imageinformation to the first SNS server 102 and the second SNS server 103.The detector 127 according to this embodiment detects, when new imageinformation is uploaded to each of the first SNS server 102 and thesecond SNS server 103, such new image information.

The link information generator 128 generates the link information toaccess the detected image information by the detector 127.

The management data updater 129 determines whether or not there is themanagement data 133 on the image information consistent with thedetected image information by the detector 127. When determining thatthere is the management data 133 on the same image information, themanagement data updater 129 stores the link information generated by thelink information generator 128 and the corresponding “posted date andtime” in the entries “sub link” and “sub posted date and time”,respectively, in the management data 133. When determining that there isthe management data on the same image information, the management dataupdater 129 may set the link information on the image information with ahigh resolution to the entry “link”, and may set the link information onthe image information with a low resolution to the entry “sub link”.

The accompanying information obtainer 130 obtains the accompanyinginformation corresponding to the accompanying entry contained in theaccompanying entry data 135, and updates the management data 133. Inaddition, the accompanying information obtainer 130 updates theclassification entry data 136 based on the obtained accompanyinginformation and the pre-set subdivision setting information.

More specifically, the accompanying information obtainer 130 includes,as illustrated in FIG. 17, an obtainer 137, a holder 138, and aclassification entry generator 139.

The obtainer 137 refers to the accompanying entry data 135, and obtainsthe accompanying information in sequence for each type of theaccompanying information contained in the accompanying entry data 135.

The accompanying information may be obtained from any of the first SNSserver 102, the second SNS server 103, and the schedule managing server104. In addition, the accompanying information may be obtained from theterminal device 101 based on a user input.

The holder 138 holds the obtained accompanying information by theobtainer 137.

The classification entry generator 139 adds, when the classificationentry of the “classification entry name” specified based on theaccompanying information obtained by the obtainer 137 and thesubdivision setting information is not contained in the classificationentry data 136, the information corresponding to the classificationentry of the “classification entry name”, thereby updating (that is,subdividing and newly adding information) the classification entry data136. The classification entry generator 139 stores the generatedclassification entry data 136 in the information managing memory (seeFIG. 11) 126.

Returning to FIG. 11, the management data generator 131 generates themanagement data 133 that contains the generated link information by thelink information generator 128, and the held accompanying information bythe holder 138. The management data generator 131 stores the generatedmanagement data 133 in the information managing memory 126.

The viewing processor 132 executes a process of classifying the imageinformation contained in the management data 133 in the tree structureindicated by the classification entry data 136 in accordance with, forexample, a request from the terminal device 101, and controlling theterminal device 101 to display the classified data on the display 111.

The explanation has been given of the structure of the informationmanagement system 100 according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure up to this paragraph. Next, an explanation will be given ofan action of the information management system 100.

As illustrated in FIG. 18, the information managing device 105 executesa management data updating process of updating the management data 133in accordance with the upload of the image information to the first SNSserver 102 and the second SNS server 103. For example, the managementdata updating process may be executed at a constant cycle.

The detector 127 determines whether or not there is new imageinformation (step S101).

More specifically, for example, the detector 127 refers to the serverdata 134 and the management data 133, and accesses the first SNS server102 and the second SNS server 103, thereby determining whether or notthe image information not specified by the “link” and “sub link” in themanagement data 133 has been uploaded to the first SNS server 102 andthe second SNS server 103.

Next, when the image information not specified by the “link” and “sublink” in the management data 133 has been uploaded, the detector 127determines that there is the new image information. When the imageinformation not specified by the “link” and “sub link” in the managementdata 133 has not been uploaded, the detector 127 determines that thereis no new image information.

When determining that there is no new image information (step S101: NO),the detector 127 ends the management data updating process.

When the detector 127 determines that there is new image information(step S101: YES), the information managing device 105 repeatedlyexecutes the processes in the steps S103-S107 for all new imageinformation detected in the step S101 (loop A: step S102).

The link information generator 128 generates the link information on thedetected image information in the step S101 (step S103).

More specifically, the link information generator 128 refers to theserver data 134 to obtain the addresses of the SNS server 102, 103soring the detected image information in the step S101. In addition, thelink information generator 128 obtains the corresponding “image ID” tothe image information in the SNS data 117, 121 of the SNS server 102,103 storing the detected image information in the step S101. The linkinformation generator 128 generates the link information based on theobtained address and the entry “image ID”.

The management data updater 129 determines whether or not there is themanagement data 133 on the image information consistent with thedetected image information in the step S101 (step S104).

More specifically, for example, the management data updater 129determines whether or not there is the management data 133 on the imageinformation consistent with the detected image information in the stepS101 based on whether or not the same image information as the detectedimage information in the step S101 has been already uploaded to the SNSserver 102, 103 different from the SNS server 102, 103 includes theimage information detected in the step S101.

When determining that there is the management data 133 on the same imageinformation (step S104: YES), the management data updater 129 stores thegenerated link information in the step S103 and the corresponding“posted date and time” in the “sub link” of the management data 133 andthe “sub posted date and time” thereof, respectively (step S105).

When the management data updater 129 determines that there is nomanagement data 133 on the same image information (step S104: NO), theaccompanying information obtainer 130 executes the accompanyinginformation obtaining process of obtaining the accompanying information(step S106).

As illustrated in FIG. 19 that shows the flow of the accompanyinginformation obtaining process (step S106), the accompanying informationobtainer 130 repeats processes in steps S202-S205 for all accompanyingentries (types of accompanying information) defined beforehand for theaccompanying entry data 135 (loop B: step S201).

In this embodiment, the accompanying information obtainer 130 repeatsprocesses in the steps S202-S205 for each of the entries “posted dateand time”, “imaging location”, “album name”, and “imaged person”.

The obtainer 137 obtains the accompanying information with the typesubjected to the process (step S202).

More specifically, for example, the obtainer 137 refers to the serverdata 134, and accesses the first SNS server 102, the second SNS server103, and the schedule managing server 104 in this sequence definedbeforehand until the accompanying information with the type subjected tothe process is obtained.

When, for example, image information “D” is detected in the step S101 inFIG. 18, and when the type of the accompanying information subjected tothe process is the entry “imaged person”, the obtainer 137 refers to thefirst SNS data 117 in the first SNS server 102. As illustrated in FIG.4, the first SNS data 117 contains no information set in the entry“imaging person”.

Hence, next, the obtainer 137 refers to the second SNS data 121 in thesecond SNS server 103. As illustrated in FIG. 7, since the second SNSdata 121 contains no image information “D”, the “imaged person”corresponding thereto is also not contained.

Hence, still further, the obtainer 137 refers to the schedule data 122in the schedule managing server 104. As illustrated in FIG. 10, theschedule data 122 contains data that includes the entry “imaginglocation” which is a museum Q associated with the image information “D”in the first SNS data 117. The obtainer 137 obtains the person Z set inthe entry “member” associated with the museum Q in the schedule data 122as the entry “imaged person” accompanying to the image information “D”.In addition to this action, the obtainer 137 may compare the imagingdate and time in the image information with the schedule data 122 in theschedule managing server 104, and may obtain the entry “imaged person”corresponding to the date and time indicated by the imaging date andtime information from the schedule data 122. More specifically, when theimaging date and time information contained in the image information “D”is Oct. 23, 2015, 10:30, by referring to the corresponding entry in theschedule data 122 stored in the schedule managing server 104, the person“Z” is obtainable as the entry “imaged person”. Note that allaccompanying entries other than the entry “imaged person” may beobtained upon comparison between the imaging date and time contained inthe image information with the schedule data 122 in the schedulemanaging server 104.

In addition, the explanation has been given of an example case in whichthe obtainer 137 refers to the first SNS server 102, the second SNSserver 103, and the schedule managing server 104 in this sequence toobtain the accompanying information, but a prioritization may be setbeforehand for each accompanying information, and those servers may bereferred at a different sequence in accordance with the type of theaccompanying information. Still further, reference may be made to thefirst SNS server 102, the second SNS server 103, and the schedulemanaging server 104 in this sequence, and the process may be ended asthe obtainment of the accompanying information being completed at a timepoint at which this accompanying information is obtained, and theprocess may be transitioned for the next accompanying information. Inaddition, reference may be made to all servers, and when there isaccompanying information that includes different details, theaccompanying information whose number of matching details is the largestmay be adopted, the accompanying information that has a highprioritization defined beforehand may be adopted, or the accompanyinginformation selected by the user may be adopted.

When the accompanying information is not obtainable from any of thefirst SNS server 102, the second SNS server 103, and the schedulemanaging server 104, the accompanying information may be obtained fromthe terminal device 101 based on the user input. When the accompanyinginformation is obtained from the terminal device 101 based on the userinput, even if the accompanying information is obtained from any of thefirst SNS server 102, the second SNS server 103, and the schedulemanaging server 104, the accompanying information obtained from theterminal device 101 may be preferentially adopted.

The holder 138 holds the accompanying information obtained in the stepS202 (step S203).

The classification entry generator 139 determines whether or not thereis the classification entry in accordance with the held accompanyinginformation in the step S203 and the subdivision setting information byreferring to the classification entry data 136 (step S204).

When determining that there is no classification entry data 136 (stepS204: NO), the classification entry generator 139 generates theclassification entry in accordance with the held accompanyinginformation in the step S203 and the subdivision setting information,and stores the classification entry data 136 in the information managingmemory 126 (step S205).

When having repeated the processes in the steps S202-S205 on theaccompanying entry data 135 for all types of accompanying informationdefined beforehand (loop B: step S201), the accompanying informationobtainer 130 ends the accompanying information obtaining process (stepS106).

Returning to the management data updating process in FIG. 18, themanagement data generator 131 generates the management data 133 thatincludes the generated link information in the step S103 associated witheach accompanying information obtained by repeatedly executing the stepS106, and stores the generated data in the information managing memory126 (step S107).

The information managing device 105 repeatedly executes (loop A: stepS102) the processes in the steps S103-S107 for all new image informationdetected in the step S101, and ends the management data updatingprocess.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 20, the information managing device105 executes the viewing process for allowing the user to view themanaged image information by the information managing device 105. Theviewing process is executed upon, for example, receiving a request fromthe terminal device 101, and this request is transmitted from theterminal device 101 when, for example, the user utilizes the terminaldevice 101 and logs in the information managing device 105.

The viewing processor 132 obtains the classification entry data 136,generates the three structure as illustrated in FIG. 15 based on theobtained classification entry data 136, and displays the tree structureon the display 111 of the terminal device 101 (step S301).

The viewing processor 132 obtains the image information from the firstSNS server 102 and the second SNS server 103 based on the linkinformation in the management data 133, and identifies to whichclassification entry the obtained image information belongs based on theclassification entry data 136 and the accompanying information of themanagement data 133 (step S302). More specifically, the viewingprocessor 132 refers to the management data 133, and identifies to whichaccompanying information the obtained image information belongs. Next,the viewing processor 132 identifies to which classification entry amongthe identified accompanying information the obtained image informationbelongs by referring to the classification entry data 136, therebyassociating the image information with the classification entry.

The viewing processor 132 generates thumbnail data indicating thescaled-down image that is the link information enabling an access to theimage information by reducing the size of the obtained image informationin the step S302 to a predetermined size (step S303). The thumbnail datacontains the link information to access the image information, and asexplained later, the uploaded image information is accessible based onthe thumbnail data.

Subsequently, the viewing processor 132 transmits, to the terminaldevice 101, the details of the classification entry associated with theimage information in the step S302 together with the thumbnail datagenerated in the step S303, and as illustrated in FIG. 21, the detailsof the classification entry are displayed in association with thethumbnail data (step S304).

By executing such a viewing process, as illustrated in, for example,FIG. 21, the uploaded image to the first SNS server 102 and the secondSNS server 103 can be displayed on the display 111 of the terminaldevice 101 in a manner classified by the tree structure. In addition,since the thumbnail is adopted as the information to identify eachimage, the user can easily recognize the image by simply viewing. Inthis embodiment, the explanation has been given of an example case inwhich the thumbnail data containing the link information is displayed,but for example, the accompanying information containing the linkinformation like the album name may be displayed.

In FIG. 21, the screen is divided into the upper part and the lowerpart, the thumbnails classified by the tree structure are displayed onthe upper part, while the large image of the selected thumbnail (in theillustrated example, the selected thumbnail is “A” classified in“2015-10-23”) together with the accompanying information of the imageare displayed on the lower part. More specifically, when a thumbnail isselected by the user, the viewing processor 132 enlarges the selectedthumbnail and displays on the lower part of the screen, and alsodisplays the accompanying information in the management data 133. Inaddition, as explained above, since the thumbnail data contains the linkinformation to access the image information, by selecting the displayedlarge image, an access can be made to the image information actuallyuploaded to the first SNS server 102 and the second SNS server 103.

As explained above, according to this embodiment, the image informationis managed based on the management data 133 that contains the linkinformation to access the image information via the network 106. Hence,the image information itself does not need to be contained in themanagement data 133. Accordingly, the uploaded image information to themultiple SNS servers 102, 103 can be managed at a little data quantity.

In addition, according to this embodiment, the thumbnail of the imageinformation is classified by the tree structure in accordance with thedetails of the classification entry, and is displayed. Hence, the useris capable of checking what image information has been uploaded to themultiple SNS servers 102, 103 in a classified (grouped) manner. Thisfacilitates the user to check the image information uploaded to themultiple SNS servers 102, 103. That is, the user who utilizes themultiple SNSs is enabled to grasp what image information has been postedand on what SNS such information has been posted at a glance, enablingan easy management of the image information.

The present disclosure can be carried out in various embodiments andmodified forms thereof without departing from the broadest scope andspirit of the present disclosure. In addition, the above embodiment ismerely to explain the present disclosure, and is not intended to limitthe scope of the present disclosure. That is, the scope of the presentdisclosure is indicated by the appended claims rather than theembodiment. Various modifications made within the scope of the appendedclaims and the equivalent ranges thereof are also within the scope ofthe present disclosure.

In the above embodiment, the explanation has been given of an examplecase in which, when the management data 133 and the classification entrydata 136 are generated and displayed, as illustrated in FIG. 21, theclassification and the thumbnail are displayed in association with eachother, but this is merely an example. For example, the link informationand the classification entry corresponding to the image information maybe stored in association with each other, and the stored details may besimply displayed at the time of display action. More specifically, afolder may be generated for each classification entry, and the linkinformation may be stored in the corresponding folder to theclassification entry through the process in the step S107 in FIG. 18.

In the above embodiment, although the explanation has been given of anexample case in which the image information is managed, the targetmanagement information is not limited to the image information, and forexample, comment information may be managed. More specifically, adetermination on whether or not there is new comment information may bemade in the step S101 in FIG. 18, and the link information correspondingto such new comment information may be generated in the step S103. Next,a part of the comment may be associated with the classification entryand displayed through the process in the step S304 in FIG. 20.

Programs and data to accomplish the present disclosure are not limitedto the distribution and providing way in a manner stored in anon-transitory recording medium freely attachable and detachablerelative to the information managing device 105 that includes a CentralProcessing Unit (CPU), a Read Only Memory (ROM), and a Random AccessMemory (RAM), but may be distributed in a manner pre-installed in anattached non-transitory memory device. The programs and data toaccomplish the present disclosure may also be distributed in a mannerdownloaded to other devices over the network connected via acommunication line or the like by providing a communication processor.

The foregoing describes some example embodiments for explanatorypurposes. Although the foregoing discussion has presented specificembodiments, persons skilled in the art will recognize that changes maybe made in form and detail without departing from the broader spirit andscope of the invention. Accordingly, the specification and drawings areto be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. Thisdetailed description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense,and the scope of the invention is defined only by the included claims,along with the full range of equivalents to which such claims areentitled.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information managing device that managestarget management information held by each of a plurality of informationholding servers connected to the information managing device via anetwork, the information managing device comprising: a detector thatdetects the target management information held by each of the pluralityof information holding servers; a link information generator thatgenerates link information for accessing the detected target managementinformation via the network; an accompanying information obtainer thatobtains accompanying information accompanying to the target managementinformation from each of the plurality of information holding servers; aclassifier that classifies the accompanying information obtained by theaccompanying information obtainer in accordance with a predefined layerstructure; and a display that displays the link information generated bythe link information generator in association with the accompanyinginformation classified by the classifier.
 2. The information managingdevice according to claim 1, wherein: the target management informationis image information; and the link information generator generates ascaled-down image, which size is a predefined size, from the targetmanagement information as the link information.
 3. The informationmanaging device according to claim 1, wherein when the detector detectsthe same target management information from at least some of theplurality of information holding servers, the display displays the linkinformation for accessing the target management information held by theinformation holding server of which predefined priority is high, inassociation with the accompanying information classified by theclassifier.
 4. The information managing device according to claim 1,wherein when the accompanying information is not obtained from theplurality of information holding servers, the accompanying informationobtainer obtains the accompanying information from a schedule managingserver that holds schedule data registering a user schedule via thenetwork.
 5. An information managing method of managing target managementinformation held by each of a plurality of information holding serversconnected to an information managing device via a network, theinformation managing method comprising: detecting the target managementinformation held by each of the plurality of information holdingservers; generating link information for accessing the detected targetmanagement information via the network; obtaining accompanyinginformation accompanying to the target management information from eachof the plurality of information holding servers; classifying theaccompanying information obtained in the obtaining in accordance with apredefined layer structure; and displaying the link informationgenerated in the generating in association with the accompanyinginformation classified in the classifying.
 6. A non-transitory computerreadable recording medium having stored therein a program for managingtarget management information held by each of a plurality of informationholding servers connected to an information managing device via anetwork, the program causing a computer connected to the network tofunction as: a detector that detects the target management informationheld by each of the plurality of information holding servers; a linkinformation generator that generates link information for accessing thedetected target management information via the network; an accompanyinginformation obtainer that obtains accompanying information accompanyingto the target management information from each of the plurality ofinformation holding servers; a classifier that classifies theaccompanying information obtained by the accompanying informationobtainer in accordance with a predefined layer structure; and a displaythat displays the link information generated by the link informationgenerator in association with the accompanying information classified bythe classifier.